"The traditional British cozy is alive and well. Delicious. I was hooked from the first paragraph.” – Rhys Bowen, award-winning author of Her Royal Spyness

“Death of a Cozy Writer, G. M. Malliet’s hilarious first mystery, is a must-read for fans of Robert Barnard and P. G. Wodehouse. I'm looking forward eagerly to Inspector St. Just’s next case!” – Donna Andrews, award-winning author of The Penguin Who Knew Too Much

“A house party in a Cambridgeshire mansion with the usual suspects, er, guests-a sly patriarch, grasping relatives, a butler, and a victim named Ruthven (what else?)-I haven’t had so much fun since Anderson’s ‘Affair of the Bloodstained Egg Cosy.’ Pass the tea and scones, break out the sherry, settle down in the library by the fire and enjoy Malliet’s delightful tribute to the time-honored tradition of the English country house mystery.” – Marcia Talley, Agatha and Anthony award-winning author of Dead Man Dancing and six previous mysteries

“Death of a Cozy Writer is a romp, a classic tale of family dysfunction in a moody and often humourous English country house setting. A worthy addition to the classic mystery tradition and the perfect companion to a cup of tea and a roaring fire, or a sunny deck chair. Relax and let G. M. Malliet introduce you to the redoubtable Detective Chief Inspector St. Just of the Cambridgeshire Constabulary. I’m sure we’ll be hearing much more from him!” – Louise Penny, author of the award-winning Armand Gamache series of murder mysteries

***

From deep in the heart of his eighteenth century English manor, millionaire Sir Adrian Beauclerk-Fisk writes mystery novels and torments his four spoiled children with threats of disinheritance. Tiring of this device, the portly patriarch decides to weave a malicious twist into his well-worn plot. Gathering them all together for a family dinner, he announces his latest blow – a secret elopement with the beautiful Violet… who was once suspected of murdering her husband.

Within hours, eldest son and appointed heir Ruthven is found cleaved to death by a medieval mace. Since Ruthven is generally hated, no one seems too surprised or upset – least of all his cold-blooded wife Lillian. When Detective Chief Inspector St. Just is brought in to investigate, he meets with a deadly calm that goes beyond the usual English reserve. And soon Sir Adrian himself is found slumped over his writing desk – an ornate knife thrust into his heart. Trapped amid leering gargoyles and concrete walls, every member of the family is a likely suspect. Using a little Cornish brusqueness and brawn, can St. Just find the killer before the next-in-line to the family fortune ends up dead?

Hoofd koel, hart verloren Jack is verbijsterd. Wie is die prachtige jonge vrouw die hem staat op te wachten? Als ze nadert, herkent hij Meri, die hij elf jaar niet heeft gezien, maar wel op afstand heeft gevolgd. De tijd is haar goed gezind geweest: het verlegen meisje is veranderd in een zeer aantrekkelijke vrouw. Die nog een appeltje met hem te schillen heeft, zo blijkt... Escorte naar geluk Een saaie klus, zo lijkt het. Rafe Marconi staat niet te springen om Alexia Wyndham Jones naar zijn land te begeleiden. Volop genietend van zijn vrijgezellenleven, boeit de toekomstige bruid van zijn broer, kroonprins Adam, hem maar matig. Zodra hij Alexia ziet, is zijn desinteresse echter als bij toverslag verdwenen! Kan hij de vonken die overspringen zomaar negeren?
(source: Bol.com)

From Publishers Weekly

The England that Capt. Matthew Hervey returns to after heroic duty at Waterloo and in India scarcely resembles the one he left merely a year before. As Mallinson recounts in lively detail, it's now 1817 and political agitators chip away at the established order, criminals prowl the streets and unemployed soldiers, trimmed from her majesty's bulging forces, bloat the ranks of the lazy and useless. Hervey, saddened by the state of his beloved country, rejoices at his new assignment: second in command of his old regiment, the 6th Light Dragoons. Soon, however, the dashing, fiercely loyal officer begins chafing under his new commander, the pompous, sadistic Lord Towcester. Having been promised a promotion once Towcester steps down, Hervey struggles to keep a stiff upper lip as he leads his Dragoon regiment on missions to ambush French smugglers on the Brighton coast and squash marauding Luddites in Nottingham. Sent to Canada, Hervey takes his wife, Lady Henrietta, along with him; in the New World disaster strikes, causing Hervey to vow vengeance on Towcester. Mallinson (Honorable Company) brings this third entry in the series to a close as Hervey teams up with U.S. troops to lend a hand with the westward expansion, setting the stage for a frontierlike adventure next time out. Mallinson's otherwise highly entertaining, cleverly executed plot suffers occasionally from excessive period detail and a dearth of suspense. His prose, however, is sure and steady, and his deft treatment of the honorable yet never priggish Hervey makes him a hero readers will not only root for but follow into battle.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In this third in a series (after Honorable Company and A Close-Run Thing), Capt. Matthew Hervey returns from India to England in 1817, where his Sixth Light Dragoons are guarding Brighton and dealing with French smugglers. Later, by sharp contrast, the setting moves to America during the Indian Wars. The villain throughout is Lord Towcester, Hervey's cowardly and inept superior officer, who is bent on destroying his underling's career. This, of course, leads to a bitter showdown. In addition to the barracks scenes, readers also get glimpses of domestic social strata via vignettes of Hervey's marriage to Lady Henrietta Lindsay. Acknowledging the influence of Patrick O'Brian, Mallinson set out in this series to tell a similar story among the cavalry, and he succeeds nicely. Recommended, especially for public libraries. Fred M. Gervat, Concordia Coll. Lib., Bronxville, NY
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

EDITORIAL REVIEW: **From the acclaimed author of *A Breath of Fresh Air*, this beautiful novel takes us to modern India during the height of the summer’s mango season. Heat, passion, and controversy explode as a woman is forced to decide between romance and tradition.**Every young Indian leaving the homeland for the United States is given the following orders by their parents: Don’t eat any cow (It’s still sacred!), don’t go out too much, save (and save, and save) your money, and most important, do *not* marry a foreigner. Priya Rao left India when she was twenty to study in the U.S., and she’s never been back. Now, seven years later, she’s out of excuses. She has to return and give her family the news: She’s engaged to Nick Collins, a kind, loving American man. It’s going to break their hearts.Returning to India is an overwhelming experience for Priya. When she was growing up, summer was all about mangoes—ripe, sweet mangoes, bursting with juices that dripped down your chin, hands, and neck. But after years away, she sweats as if she’s never been through an Indian summer before. Everything looks dirtier than she remembered. And things that used to seem natural (a buffalo strolling down a newly laid asphalt road, for example) now feel totally chaotic.But Priya’s relatives remain the same. Her mother and father insist that it’s time they arranged her marriage to a “nice Indian boy.” Her extended family talks of nothing *but* marriage—particularly the marriage of her uncle Anand, which still has them reeling. Not only did Anand marry a woman from another Indian state, but he also married for love. Happiness and love are not the point of her grandparents’ or her parents’ union. In her family’s rule book, duty is at the top of the list.Just as Priya begins to feel she can’t possibly tell her family that she’s engaged to an American, a secret is revealed that leaves her stunned and off-balance. Now she is forced to choose between the love of her family and Nick, the love of her life.As sharp and intoxicating as sugarcane juice bought fresh from a market cart, *The Mango Season* is a delightful trip into the heart and soul of both contemporary India and a woman on the edge of a profound life change.*From the Hardcover edition.*